Moon above the sea at Daimotsu Bay - Benkei, from the series One hundred aspects of the moon

Musashibō Benkei is one of Japan’s favourite heroes, an exemplar of loyalty. He was a famous follower of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, the brother of Minamoto no Yoritomo, who founded the Kamakura Shogunate after defeating the Taira clan in what is known as the Genpei War. Fearing Yoshitsune as a rival, Yoritomo forced Yoshitsune to flee with the loyal Benkei. This print depicts a scene popularised in nō and kabuki plays when Benkei quells a storm raised by the ghosts of Taira warriors with prayers and magic spells. Benkei wears a small black hat that was the insignia of ‘mountain warriors’, with whom he had been associated before becoming Yoshitsune’s follower.